Ambika (born 24 May 1962) is an Indian film actress known for her works predominantly in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada films. She also did a few Telugu and English films. She was one of the top south Indian heroines for a decade from 1978 to 1989. Her younger sister Radha, was also an actress. They acted together in a number of south Indian films and during the peak of their careers, they owned a movie studio called "ARS Studios". In 2013 they converted ARS Studios to a hotel complex.

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Ambika was born on 24 May 1962 to Kunjan Nair and Sarasamma at Kallara village, located in Trivandrum district.[2] Her mother Kallara Sarasamma was Mahila Congress leader during 2014.[3] She has two younger sisters, Radha and Mallika, and two younger brothers, Arjun and Suresh.[4][5] She had her primary education till fourth from L.M. L.P.S. Arivarikuzhi School, fifth to seventh from Government Higher Secondary School Kallara and from eighth till SSLC from Government Higher Secondary School, Mithirmala, Thrivananthapuram. She pursued Bachelors of Arts degree by correspondence and also she studied at Vedas college, Kallara for a while.[6]

Ambika started her career as a child artist and later as main heroine at the age of 16 in 1979 and acted in more than 200 South Indian films. Her career as a heroine started with the Malayalam movie Seetha, which only released very late in her career. But with films such as Neelathaamara (which was made again in 2009) and Lejjavathi, she became a busy actress within a few years not only in Malayalam,[7] but also in Tamil and Kannada.[8]

She had a very successful career in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam movies throughout the 1980s. In Tamil and Malayalam, she took on a few bold roles that showcased her versatility and talent. In Kannada, however, she appeared in many roles and songs that were characteristic by being erotic yet understated. Her hot rain songs with Vishnuvardhan are shown frequently on the TV program Midnight Masala and are considered groundbreaking in terms of being bold, stunning and revealing in an otherwise conservative industry.[10]

In Tamil, Ambika shot to fame with the movie Kakki Chattai. In the zenith of her career she was paired in the same movie with her sister Radha in Kadhal Parisu, where both actresses demonstrated their acting prowess by taking on roles of two young, beautiful sisters, who had strong, yet conflicting personalities.